Chinese stage protest at Japan embassy over islands

Security officers reinforce barriers as Chinese protesters attend an anti-Tokyo rally outside the Japanese embassy over three islands claimed by both nations, in Beijing on September 15, 2012.

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Thousands of protesters have besieged the Japanese embassy in Beijing amid rising tensions between China and Japan over a chain of islands in the East China Sea they both claim.
The angry demonstrators also threw rocks and bottles at the diplomatic building during the Saturday protest.
Police forces also barricaded the embassy and struggled to hold back the protesters.
"Return our islands! Japanese devils get out!" the protesters chanted.
A protester held a placard reading, "For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan."
On Friday, Beijing sent six surveillance ships to the islands, after Tokyo announced the purchase of the archipelago from their private Japanese owner.
The Japanese coast guard said two ships entered waters near the islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, at 6:18 a.m. local time on Friday (2118 GMT Thursday). The ships were followed by four other vessels that entered the waters at 7:00 a.m. (2200 GMT).
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ships entered the waters “to start patrol and law enforcement.”
“These law enforcement and patrol activities are designed to demonstrate China’s jurisdiction over the islands and safeguard its maritime interests.”
Japan and China have long been competing over the sovereignty of the uninhabited islands, which are located near a crucial shipping lane and would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.
On September 11, Tokyo signed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.
Hundreds of Chinese people staged a demonstration outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Thursday, protesting against the move. They sang China’s national anthem and chanted anti-Tokyo slogans.
China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said on September 12 that Beijing would “never yield an inch” over the disputed territories.
DB/MA/AZ